DRINKING WATER

GettyImages-2153059351-gloved-hand-with-test-tube-testing-water From Utility To Ally: Smart Water Management For Customer Satisfaction

Smart water technologies improve customer satisfaction through accurate billing, leak detection, and data-driven insights, helping utilities build trust, reduce losses, and enhance operational efficiency.

DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS

DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES

  • A Comparative Study Of On-Line And Laboratory TOC Analyzers For Analysis Of Raw And Finished Drinking Water
    4/5/2013

    Total organic carbon (TOC) analysis is an important indicator of water quality throughout the drinking water treatment process. Raw source water is progressively treated in chemical coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, and filtration steps to remove particulate matter and natural organic matter (NOM).

  • The 'First Line Of Defense' In Protecting Membrane Filters
    8/9/2019

    Multi-element, self-cleaning pretreatment filters optimize membrane filter life and production while minimizing maintenance and downtime.

  • Best Practices In Moist And Wet Gas Flow
    12/20/2021

    The Wet Gas MASSter sensor is for use in applications that have a high level of moisture or condensation present in the gas flow stream that cannot otherwise be removed.

  • Determination Of Pesticide Residue In Vegetables
    9/10/2014

    QuEChERS is a Quick-Easy-Cheap-Effective-Rugged-Safe extraction method that has been developed for the determination of pesticide residues in agricultural commodities.

  • Activated Carbon And Adsorption Of Trichloroethylene (TCE) And Tetrachloroethylene (PCE)
    12/30/2013

    Trichloroethylene (TCE) and Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) are two of the most common solvents that contaminate groundwater supplies in the United States. Both solvents see frequent use in the extraction of fat, in the textile industry, in the production of various pharmaceutical and chemical products. TCE is also used as a degreaser from fabricated metal parts, and PCE serves as a component of aerosol dry-cleaning solvents.

  • Determination Of Pesticide Residues In Tea
    4/10/2015

    In 2012, Americans consumed well over 79 billion servings of tea, which is just over 3.60 billion gallons.

  • Dissolved Oxygen Measurement
    11/11/2013

    One of the most important measurements in the determination of the health of a body of water is its dissolved oxygen content. The quantity of dissolved oxygen in water is normally expressed in parts per million (ppm) by weight and is due to the solubility of oxygen from the atmosphere around us.

  • Deployment Of NextStep In Reverse Osmosis Systems
    1/15/2026

    Pulsafeeder has secured a significant order for its NextStep series of stepper motor-driven metering pumps, specifically for use in advanced Reverse Osmosis (RO) applications. This deployment underscores the growing demand for precision chemical dosing in high-performance water treatment systems. The order includes NextStep NS1 and NS9 models, each selected for their unique capabilities in high-pressure and low-pressure RO environments.

  • VFD Energy Savings For Pumping Applications
    4/6/2017

    In the early days of variable frequency drive (VFD) technology, the typical application was in process control for manufacturing synthetic fiber, steel bars, and aluminum foil.

  • Harmonics Reduction Methods
    4/17/2017

    There are several basic methods for reducing harmonic voltage and current distortion from nonlinear distribution loads such as adjustable frequency drives (AFDs). Following is a description of each method, along with each method’s advantages and disadvantages.

DRINKING WATER PRODUCTS

Cloth media filters are designed for a variety of tertiary treatment applications

The Series 1100TDM Tandem MEGALUG restrain ductile iron pipe to mechanical joint fittings, pipe and appurtenances that require high PSI ratings. It consists of one Series 1100 MEGALUG and one Series 1100 MEGALUG with the MJ lip removed as to sit properly behind the first.

The Ultrameter II is a prime example of how high-tech engineering can greatly simplify and streamline a task. Whether in the lab, industrial plant, or in a remote field location, there are only a few simple steps to take a reading. 

WRT's Z-92® process is the most effective and environmentally responsible choice you can make for removing uranium from drinking water and the community. That's because after removing the uranium, we dispose of it at a licensed facility

The EchoShore-DXe Acoustic Leak Monitoring Sensor is a valve-based sensor that extends the leak monitoring capabilities of the Echologics EchoShore-DX system. 

The Series NXT3000 High Capacity Gas Feed System is a family of vacuum-operated, solution-feed, gas dispensing components including a vacuum regulator, meter assembly and ejector to meet customer needs for feeding chlorine, sulfur dioxide, ammonia or carbon dioxide gas. The Series NXT3000 is a versatile, high quality system which operates at sonic conditions eliminating the need for differential pressure regulation across the rate control valve.

LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER

DRINKING WATER VIDEOS

See how SIWA MDM Event and Data Action Management (EDAM) helps utilities detect anomalies and identify service points with potential issues. With EDAM, utilities can define a set of conditions or rules that SIWA MDM meter data management uses to analyze data and events such as water leaks and missing reads.

Scientists are developing robots that might someday be able to creep through the pitch-black mines to help prevent spills. A 2015 spill from Colorado’s Gold King Mine unleashed 3 million gallons of water that fouled rivers in three states with toxins.

How much water does it take to make a hamburger? How about to manufacture a car? Having experienced growing up with limited resources living in a refugee camp in India, Anil Ahuja is leading a movement to design sustainable cities and systems that protect the earth and the people who live on it.

Take a quick tour of the Blue-White factory in Huntington Beach, California, where skilled employees are busy building chemical dosing pumps, complete metering systems and flow measurement equipment.

Through a partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) Law Enforcement Division – DWR is able to provide funding for Luna, a seven-year-old German Shepard from the Czech Republic, who is trained to protect her handler, apprehend suspects, and detect various threats to Delta species and environments.

ABOUT DRINKING WATER

In most developed countries, drinking water is regulated to ensure that it meets drinking water quality standards. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers these standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)

Drinking water considerations can be divided into three core areas of concern:

  1. Source water for a community’s drinking water supply
  2. Drinking water treatment of source water
  3. Distribution of treated drinking water to consumers

Drinking Water Sources

Source water access is imperative to human survival. Sources may include groundwater from aquifers, surface water from rivers and streams and seawater through a desalination process. Direct or indirect water reuse is also growing in popularity in communities with limited access to sources of traditional surface or groundwater. 

Source water scarcity is a growing concern as populations grow and move to warmer, less aqueous climates; climatic changes take place and industrial and agricultural processes compete with the public’s need for water. The scarcity of water supply and water conservation are major focuses of the American Water Works Association.

Drinking Water Treatment

Drinking Water Treatment involves the removal of pathogens and other contaminants from source water in order to make it safe for humans to consume. Treatment of public drinking water is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. Common examples of contaminants that need to be treated and removed from water before it is considered potable are microorganisms, disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals and radionuclides.

There are a variety of technologies and processes that can be used for contaminant removal and the removal of pathogens to decontaminate or treat water in a drinking water treatment plant before the clean water is pumped into the water distribution system for consumption.

The first stage in treating drinking water is often called pretreatment and involves screens to remove large debris and objects from the water supply. Aeration can also be used in the pretreatment phase. By mixing air and water, unwanted gases and minerals are removed and the water improves in color, taste and odor.

The second stage in the drinking water treatment process involves coagulation and flocculation. A coagulating agent is added to the water which causes suspended particles to stick together into clumps of material called floc. In sedimentation basins, the heavier floc separates from the water supply and sinks to form sludge, allowing the less turbid water to continue through the process.

During the filtration stage, smaller particles not removed by flocculation are removed from the treated water by running the water through a series of filters. Filter media can include sand, granulated carbon or manufactured membranes. Filtration using reverse osmosis membranes is a critical component of removing salt particles where desalination is being used to treat brackish water or seawater into drinking water.

Following filtration, the water is disinfected to kill or disable any microbes or viruses that could make the consumer sick. The most traditional disinfection method for treating drinking water uses chlorine or chloramines. However, new drinking water disinfection methods are constantly coming to market. Two disinfection methods that have been gaining traction use ozone and ultra-violet (UV) light to disinfect the water supply.

Drinking Water Distribution

Drinking water distribution involves the management of flow of the treated water to the consumer. By some estimates, up to 30% of treated water fails to reach the consumer. This water, often called non-revenue water, escapes from the distribution system through leaks in pipelines and joints, and in extreme cases through water main breaks.

A public water authority manages drinking water distribution through a network of pipes, pumps and valves and monitors that flow using flow, level and pressure measurement sensors and equipment.

Water meters and metering systems such as automatic meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) allows a water utility to assess a consumer’s water use and charge them for the correct amount of water they have consumed.